


And They Lived

by liveyourstory



Series: True Love's Kiss [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-01-19 14:14:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1472776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liveyourstory/pseuds/liveyourstory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Howard found the Valkyrie - and Steve - after the war, rather than the Tesseract? Good news, right? Of course...until it becomes clear that 1940's medicine isn't advanced enough to defrost him. Enter Howard Stark and his Bright Ideas, and Peggy Carter, who always had preferred the idea of being Prince Charming rather than the damsel in distress</p>
            </blockquote>





	And They Lived

**Author's Note:**

> You wouldn't think it from the word count, but this started off as a silly cheesy idea for a one-shot. Ho hum!

Peggy should have been surprised when she stepped into the office she shared with two other agents – empty for the rest of the afternoon, she’d thought – only to be greeted with the sight of Howard Stark sprawled across the sofa. She should have been, but she wasn't, despite the fact that the last she’d heard he was still somewhere off the coast of Greenland. It was just like the man to swan back into HQ without having first telegraphed ahead.

For one brief moment she worried that he was injured (or worse), judging from his current position. The sofa he was slumped on was more of a slightly elongated chair, really, and was certainly too small for one to lie down on comfortably. Which, it had occurred to her before, was probably entirely the point. She still hadn't worked out the reason for it being in the office she’d moved into; there was no other furniture next to it to encourage a less formal meeting amongst colleagues, and the one time she had sat on it, thinking it would make a more comfortable seat than the chair at her desk, she’d felt springs poking into her backside and had to vacate. No one in their right mind would try and get any rest on it, and yet there Howard was. It almost looked like he’d been dropped onto it unconscious; he was half on his back, his torso hunched over to try and fit on the single cushion, with his legs spread – one hooked over the arm of the sofa while the other dangled onto the floor. If it weren't for the fact that she could hear him snoring she would have been convinced that he’d been attacked and somehow dumped in her office. But she brushed her concern aside, reassured that it was simply a case of fatigue winning out. He couldn’t have been back long, and Peggy presumed that he had made his way over to headquarters immediately after docking. She wondered why he hadn’t stopped at a hotel first if he was so exhausted from the journey. Perhaps he had news that couldn't wait? She perked up at the thought, even though it would mean getting hold of the Colonel and telling him he would have to cut short his weekend away. It would be worth his scowls and grumpy mutterings if it turned out Howard had finally had some luck on his expedition.

Entering the office properly, she walked over to her desk and dropped the stack of files she’d been carrying onto its smooth surface. They landed with a resounding crash and Peggy had to press her lips together to keep from grinning when Howard, startled awake by the noise, yelped and sat up, looking around wildly.

His (somewhat unfocused) gaze settled on her and she was suddenly glad Agents Leigh and Davis weren’t in the office. Few people saw Howard in anything other than a perfectly pressed suit and she was struck by the intimacy of seeing him dishevelled and barely awake. She wasn’t sure it was entirely appropriate so she averted her eyes and busied herself straightening the files into a neat stack again.

‘Did you do that on purpose?’ Howard mumbled around a yawn, swinging his legs round so he could sit up properly, bracing his elbows on his knees as he scrubbed at his eyes.

‘Perhaps.’ Peggy answered lightly, separating out the paperwork that was ready for filing. It was her least favourite part of her job, first place on a long list of things she hated about being stuck in a desk job for months on end, and invariably she put it off for days until the pile looked ready to collapse and make a mess of her otherwise tidy desk. From the looks of things she was getting close to that happening, so she made a mental note to clear it all the following Monday. A shitty job for the shittiest day of the week.

‘Anyone ever tell you you’re a cruel, cruel lady?’

‘Numerous times. Many of them you, if I recall correctly.’

Howard ran his fingers through his hair and grinned at her. ‘I’m nothing if not honest, sweetheart.’

‘You’re a lot of things, Howard, and _honest_ would not be the first description that came to mind.’ Peggy arched an eyebrow at him and he clutched a hand to his heart, pretending to look insulted.

‘You wound me, woman. And here I was planning on taking you out for a nice dinner.’ He narrowed his eyes and pointed at her. ‘Don’t make me regret that decision.’

Peggy rolled her eyes, dropping a file of encoded information into one of the desk drawers. ‘What makes you think I’d even agree to go?’

‘Because I take you to all the best places. You can pretend all you like, but I know you like dining with New York’s finest.’

‘Then you clearly don’t know me as well as you think you do.’

‘C’mon, Carter, don’t be difficult. I know I’m not your first choice, but I’m still pretty good company, if I do say so myself.’

Peggy sighed. ‘It’s not that.’ She didn’t like to stroke his ego, lord knew that was the last thing he needed, but she also didn’t want him thinking she was turning him down because she didn’t want to spend time with him. He was good company; the two of them got on well together and although his arrogance could get irritating, he was never genuinely hurt when she tried to bring him down a peg or two with a few sharp words. ‘It’s been a busy week and I still have two reports to finish up. I’ll be here until late.’ She glanced at Howard. ‘Sorry, you’ll have to find another girl to hang on your every word all night.’

Howard stood up and walked over to her desk, perching on the edge of it. ‘What do you mean, another girl? You never hang on my every word.’ He leant forward and began rifling through the loose papers on her desk, causing Peggy to tut and slap at his hands.

‘Do you mind? Those are confidential.’

‘Looks boring, just leave it.’

Peggy sighed again, more pointedly this time, and drew the sheaves of paper of paper in front of her, ‘I can’t _just leave it_. Unless you have something else to report would take precedence?’ She gave him an expectant look, and his teasing expression shifted to one of frustration.

‘No go. Again. Just ice and water as far as the eye can see...I was _sure_ that this time—’

‘Howard.’ Peggy interrupted him before he could get too worked up. Leaning over the desk, she laid her hand on top of his and squeezed gently. ‘It’s alright. You’re doing all you can. We’ll find it eventually.’

Howard turned his hand so their palms were touching and linked their fingers. ‘That word isn’t in Phillips’ vocabulary, and it isn’t one I favour much either.’

‘Well, you’re no use to us if you run yourself ragged.’ Peggy told him firmly.

‘I know, I know.’

They fell into a comfortable silence, Howard brooding and staring, unseeing, at her desk. After a few seconds Peggy withdrew her hand and sat back in her chair, returning her attention to the report in front of her. ‘Since you don’t have anything for me to work on, I really must finish this. Enjoy your dinner.’

This time it was Howard’s turn to sigh and he smacked his hand down in the centre of the paper, fingers spread to cover as much of it as he could. ‘Carter, you’re basically the only one left in the building. You haven't got anything to prove so there's no reason to put in extra hours when everyone else, including the boss, has taken off already.'

Peggy flicked the back of his hand with her pencil, making him flinch and pull his hand to his chest as he shot her an injured look.

‘That wasn’t very nice.’

‘I would rather not start my work week with outstanding paperwork, thanks. I don’t have any plans for tonight, so I might as well stay and get it finished.’

‘You do have plans tonight.’ Howard said obstinately. ‘With me. Dinner plans.’

‘ _Howard_.’

‘I mean it. The department isn’t going to fall apart if you don’t spend your Friday night correcting some guy’s spelling and grammar.’

Against her better judgement, Peggy could feel her resolve slipping. Howard was right, most of her colleagues had already left for the day since it had been a slow week. But most of them had family they wanted to rush home to; until fifteen minutes ago Peggy hadn’t even known Howard was in the city, and she had no one else to take up her time. That didn’t mean she _wanted_ to work late, but she hadn’t had anything better to do. Now Howard was offering an out, it was very tempting to take it.

‘Or is that you already have a date?’ Howard suddenly asked, eyebrows raised.

‘Don’t be ridiculous. I just told you I don’t have plans.’

‘You know what I’m talking about.’

Peggy glared at him. ‘Not that it’s any of your business, but I wasn’t planning on visiting him tonight.’

‘Good!’ Howard clapped his hands together and jumped up from her desk, grabbing her coat and hat from the coat stand in the corner. ‘Then let’s go. I have reservations in an hour.’

‘Isn’t it a bit early for dinner?’ Peggy asked, even as she scooped her report up and locked it in her desk drawer. It was unlikely Howard was going to give in and would probably just stay in her office annoying her to the point that she didn’t get any work done anyway. She might as well take him up on his offer. At least, that was the excuse she chose to use for deciding against staying longer.

Satisfied that everything that needed to be locked away was, and that her desk was free of clutter, she walked over to where Howard was waiting and let him help her into her coat.

‘Drinks first, my dear.’ He told her as she tucked her hair neatly under her hat and he pulled his own coat on. ‘We may not have anything to celebrate yet, but hell, I could do with a stiff drink. After you.’

&&&

‘No more for me, thanks.’ Peggy said, placing her hand over her glass when Howard made to top it up. He sent her a bemused look but didn’t say anything, and poured the last of the bottle into his own glass instead.

‘You didn’t answer my question.’ He said, eyeing the red liquid as he swirled it around the glass before swallowing half of it in one gulp.

Peggy pushed the small glass dessert dish away, raising her napkin to dab at the corners of her mouth. She was stalling, and she knew Howard would realise that, but just as he’d been reluctant to admit that his expedition had once again proved fruitless, so it was difficult for her to admit there had been no change with Steve, who had been found and fished out of the icy depths of the Atlantic many weeks ago but since then had remained in some kind of coma. Not that there was anything she personally could do; she wasn’t a nurse anymore, after all. And yet it still felt like a weight settled on her chest when she thought of that body, pale and unmoving in an underground hospital room, corpse-like in nearly every way but for the occasional faint heartbeat.

‘He’s…the same.’ She finally said. ‘No new developments.’

‘Nothing at all?’ Howard frowned. ‘But it’s been nearly two months.’

Peggy’s fingers tightened on the napkin in her lap. ‘I know. The doctors are saying they’re at a loss for what else they can try. It’s not exactly a normal situation, after all. I suppose they’re not sure how far to push it, in case they make the wrong call.’

Howard scoffed, shaking his head as he sat back in his seat. ‘There’s got to be something they haven’t thought of.’ He raised his eyes and cocked an eyebrow at Peggy. ‘Have you tried dropping an enormous pile of reports onto the table next to him?’

Peggy’s lips quirked in the beginnings of a smile, but she held it back. ‘Somehow I don’t think that’s the answer.’

‘You can’t rule it out unless you’ve tried it.’ Howard replied, shrugging.

‘I think in this instance we can.’ Peggy said. ‘But if you have any sensible suggestions, I’m sure everyone would love to hear them.’ Actually she was fairly certain a suggestion from Howard would be the last thing most of the doctors and other so-called experts would be interested in. He had a tendency to rub them up the wrong way.

‘I’ll give it some thought.’ Howard told her as he pulled out his cigarette case, flipping it open and offering it to Peggy. She took one, murmuring her thanks, and they both leant across the table so he could light it for her. Cupping his hand around the match as he held it in front of her, he continued, ‘Although personally I think it’s a perfectly reasonable idea. It’s already been proven to be a successful way of interrupting one’s beauty sleep.’ His eyebrows drew together as a thought occurred to him and he sat back, eyeing Peggy shrewdly as he held his cigarette to his lips, breathing in deeply.

‘What is it?’ Peggy asked, suddenly self-conscious. She didn't like it when he got that look in his eyes; it usually meant trouble.

Howard schooled his expression into one of innocent disinterest, blowing smoke out slowly as he watched the burning tip of his cigarette for a moment. ‘Did you see the flick that Disney fella brought out before the war? _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_?’

‘What of it?’ Peggy frowned, thrown by the sudden change in topic.

‘Well,’ Howard began, gaze still firmly on his cigarette. ‘Isn’t there a part in that story where a character falls into a deep, unexplainable sleep and requires special help to be woken up?’ He glanced up at her with a pointed look.

‘Yes,’ Peggy replied, drawing the word out slowly as she tried to follow Howard’s wavelength. ‘But I fail to see—’ All of a sudden the penny dropped and Peggy realised what Howard was suggesting. She felt her cheeks grow warm and her temper start to flare up. Honestly, the man really was deplorable at times. ‘For God’s sake, Howard.’ She spat, glaring at him.

Infuriatingly, Howard waved a hand lazily as if to brush away her indignation. ‘What? It worked, didn’t it?’

‘In a _story_.’ Peggy retorted, trying to keep her voice down.

‘Like I said, don’t rule out an option until you know for sure it won’t work.’ He shrugged, smirking a little. ‘Or you’ll only kick yourself in the future if it turns out you had the answer all along. If you’re worried you’re not the right gal for the job, don’t worry, I saw the way he looked at you. I may not have firsthand experience, but I can recognise true love when I see it.’

Peggy’s hands curled into fists, her knuckles white as she told herself not to make a scene by launching herself across the table and slapping that insufferable smirk from Howard’s face. ‘I’m not discussing this.’ She said firmly, still glaring at him. ‘Honestly, you’re so…’

‘Intelligent? Charming? Full of good ideas?’

‘Obnoxious and inappropriate.’ Peggy corrected him. Deciding she wasn’t in the mood to smoke after all, she stubbed out her forgotten cigarette into the ashtray on the edge of the table, not even caring that it was a waste.

Howard grinned at her, not looking even the slightest bit abashed. ‘You wouldn’t have me any other way, sweetheart.’

&&&

To Peggy’s relief Howard refrained from mentioning his ridiculous idea again that evening, and the two of them enjoyed a couple of games of cards before he drove her back to her apartment. Most of her Saturday was taken up with cleaning and doing odd jobs around her small home, and before she knew it three o’clock had rolled around and it was time to make her way across the city to where Steve was being kept. Howard had teased her in the past about having such a strict schedule, but she liked to have the routine; she allowed herself an hour every couple of days before dinner to visit Steve and read to him, give him updates on life post-war, or even just sit with him in quiet solidarity. It had been tempting, especially in the beginning, to spend more time at his bedside, but she soon became aware of the whispers around the office so she shut her feelings behind a professional barrier and backed off as much as she could bring herself too. She refused to let herself be known only as “Cap’s Girl”, after all; she’d worked hard to get to where she was and she wasn’t about to throw it away. Steve would understand.

There had been light rain that morning but by the time Peggy walked down the steps of her building onto the street, it had eased off and the sun was making a valiant effort to dodge the clouds. It was pleasantly warm still, so Peggy decided to forego public transport and walk instead, relishing the opportunity to stretch her legs.

The SSR, although officially merged with another ministry department now, still owned a handful of buildings throughout the city. Mostly used for storage, no one bothered to try and reclaim them - helped in part by the fact that they had been largely financed by Howard and he always had excuses at the ready as to why they needed to be kept operational. Peggy made her way to one of them now; at ground level it was a small café, tucked away down a quiet side-street where it didn’t see much business. A bell tinkled over the door as Peggy entered and she made her way to the counter, purchased a small bun and two cups of tea from the young lady there, then casually spoke the code phrase that would allow her entry to the basement.

She was beckoned through a doorway and followed the girl as they passed the door for the ladies’ room and instead made for the door marked ‘broom closet’ at the end of the short passage. She waited while the girl stepped inside, moved a ladder out of the way, and pressed a panel on the wall. With a low grinding noise, the section of wall slid sideways, revealing a dimly-lit staircase. The girl moved out of the way and let Peggy through, then closed the entrance behind her.

Peggy wasn’t sure what this particular building had been used for in the preceding years, but now it was used as a hospital of sorts. A small team of nurses and agents, dedicated to ensuring Steve Rogers regained consciousness, were always on hand in case of any changes; Peggy knew them all by name and often stopped for a brief chat either on her way in or out of Steve’s room.

At the bottom of the flight of stairs, there was a small room with a hallway leading off it. Situated about half way down this was a large desk at a right angle from the wall, giving whoever was sitting at it full view of anyone walking towards them. Nancy was on duty today; she worked weekends and alternate Mondays and was one of the more talkative girls here.

Smiling in greeting, Peggy held out one of the cups of tea for Nancy to take, which she did with a small squeal of pleasure. ‘Ooh, you’re a darling!’

Peggy laughed and set her own tea down so she could pick up the clipboard Nancy slid towards her. She glanced down the list of names, noting that the doctor had been by earlier, as has Howard very briefly, then added her own signature and the current time. ‘I take it there’s nothing new to report?’ She asked, tapping the doctor’s signature.

Nancy gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘’Fraid not. He was only here about fifteen minutes and then left again. Between you and me, it’s feeling more and more like people are starting to give up hope.’

Peggy sighed and picked up her tea again. ‘I suppose it’s to be expected. They want results and they’re not getting them. I’m sure they must be getting frustrated.’ She forced a smile that she knew must look more like a grimace, and adjusted her handbag before stepping around the desk to continue down the hallway.

Nancy swivelled in her chair. ‘You won’t though, will you, Agent Carter? Give up hope, I mean.’

Peggy paused at the doorway to Steve’s room and glanced over her shoulder. ‘No. I’ve always had faith in him, and I always will.’

&&&

Being underground, it was impossible to fill Steve’s room with natural light, but it was kept well-lit by an overhead fluorescent tube. Peggy saw that fresh flowers had been left on his bedside and their scent wafted throughout the room, immediately making her nose itch. Oh well; it was a nice thought, at least.

There was a single chair against the wall and Peggy pulled it closer to the bed, noticing as she did so a small parcel wrapped in brown paper on the table. Frowning, she picked it up and stuck her head around the door again. ‘Nancy? What’s this?’ She waved the parcel.

Nancy shrugged. ‘A gift from Mr. Stark. He said to tell you it was new reading material for Princess Rogers.’ She frowned. ‘I guess that must mean something to you but it didn’t make any sense to me.’

‘I see, thank you.’ Peggy bristled, wondering what Howard had done now. She should have known better than to think that he’d forget their conversation from the night before. Returning to the chair, she sat down and left her tea on the table before turning the parcel over in her hands. She had a feeling she knew exactly what she was going to find when she opened it.

Tearing the paper off, she found she’d been correct; Howard had left a pocket-sized copy of _Grimm’s Fairytales_. The end of a ribbon poked out of the bottom and she let the book fall open to see which page was marked. The title was written in a thick, swirling script: ‘Little Briar Rose’. Peggy was familiar with the story and she tutted angrily, half-tempted to throw the book across the room. Damn that man! She would have a few choice words to share with him the next time she saw him.

Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she put the book down and took a sip of her tea, letting her gaze move over Steve as she drank. He looked exactly the same as he did every other time she came, of course he did. Pale and still and so very young. She took his hand, barely able to cover it with her own delicate fingers. His skin still felt chilly to her, but the doctors had assured her several times that his temperature was no longer dangerously low.

‘Hello, Steve.’ She said softly. ‘It’s the weekend again. I had a lovely walk over here; the sun is out and it’s warm, and the trees look wonderful with all the different colour leaves.’ She paused, rubbing her thumb back and forth across the back of his hand. ‘It’s a shame you’re missing it,’ she continued in a light tone. ‘You could be out there sketching and painting. You realise you won’t be expected to get back to work immediately, don’t you? I know there’s still, ah, cleaning up to be done in Europe but you won’t be shipped back just yet, so if you’re refusing to wake up because of that, rest assured you’ll be given recuperation time here in New York. Plenty of it. In fact, if you’re _really_ lucky you’ll be given a nice desk job for a few months and won’t have to worry about getting your boots muddy for a long time.’ It was hard to keep the bitterness from creeping into her voice.

‘Sorry, I’ve bored you with that topic too many times before, I won’t get into it again. I’m going quite mad, though. You will not believe the amount of filing I’ve been doing. I rather think they didn’t bother to keep on top of it for the entirety of the war and instead saved it up for us to deal with now.’

She paused, draining the last of her tea which, by now, had gone cold. She didn’t mind; she’d had far worse. As she put the empty cup down, she glanced at the book of fairy tales again, but pointedly looked away. ‘There isn’t really much else to tell you. Howard’s back. He wasn’t gone as long this time but he still hasn’t had any luck finding the cube. I’m not really sure if he will, but of course I won’t tell him that. I know it’s important to get it back before another interested party stumbles across it, but who knows where it ended up. It was a stroke of luck he found you, and that plane was a much bigger target.

Anyway, he’s back for now, and probably won’t set off again for a few months. I think he’s fallen behind on other commitments so he really should prioritise some other work, at least for a little while. I’m sure he’ll come and see you when he can. He was here today, actually. He left you something, but I think it would be best put to use smacking him on the head.’ She paused, wishing she would see Steve’s lips twitch into a smile. No such luck, though. ‘He’s decided your situation is not unlike a fairy tale, but you’re not the dashing knight in armour, I’m afraid. No, you’re the princess in this story, and he’s got it into his head that all you need is a true love’s kiss to wake you up.’ She rolled her eyes; it sounded even more ridiculous out loud than it had when she’d thought it. ‘I know, he’s an idiot. But he means well.’

Without fully realising she was doing it, Peggy’s gaze dropped to Steve’s mouth. She remembered how his lips had felt against hers, even if the kiss itself had not been very good. She’d had to drag him close and it was lucky that the car moved smoothly, else their lips would have smashed together painfully. Not her best plan, and definitely not how she’d wanted their first kiss to go, but suddenly she hadn’t been able to let him go without one. She didn’t regret it, but she did want the chance to do it again. Preferably with Steve as a conscious and active participant rather than asleep, as he was now, or unresponsive from shock, as he had been last time.

She shook her head, pushing all thoughts of romance from her mind. ‘Well, I can’t think of anything else to tell you, so I suppose we’ll return to Lake-town, shall we?’ She released Steve’s hand and picked up her handbag again, drawing from it the paper bag with her bun inside – slightly battered now – and the book she’d brought along that she’d been reading from during the past week – also slightly battered and worse for wear. She’d found it in a second-hand bookshop close to headquarters and had picked it up because she’d never read it, but Steve had once mentioned liking it.

She tore the paper bag and laid it carefully across her lap so she could pick at the pastry as she read, then opened the book to where she’d left off the previous Thursday. ‘“So one day, although autumn was now getting far on, and winds were cold, and leaves were falling fast, three large boats…”’

She read for half an hour, until her throat started to feel dry and her voice turned croaky. ‘I think we’ll leave it there for today, if you don’t mind. Time is getting on, and I need to pop to the butcher’s on my way home.’ She returned the book to her bag and brushed the crumbs from her skirt, balling up the paper and dropping it in the wastebasket. She stood at the head of Steve’s bed, looking down at him with uncertainty. This was always the hardest part. She’d long since stopped feeling self-conscious about holding up a one-sided conversation with an unconscious man, but saying goodbye at the end of each visit always proved awkward. It didn’t seem right to just leave without saying anything, but it felt odd to say goodbye when she knew she wouldn’t get any kind of response. And now Howard had made matters worse, putting the idea of a kiss into her head.

It was a stupid idea, she knew it was. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of it making any difference to Steve’s state and she felt ridiculous for even considering it. And yet…it would be so easy to just lean down and press her lips to his quickly, a promise to him and comfort for herself.

Her fingers clenched around the strap of her handbag as she hesitated at his bedside. Finally, she huffed out an aggravated breath and muttered, ‘Oh, sod it,’, bending down before she could change her mind. She closed her eyes as her lips made contact with his, dryer than she remembered and a little chapped from the stuffy air in the room, but still soft. She didn’t move for several seconds, but eventually pulled back, her face hovering an inch away from his as she searched his face for any kind of reaction. She told herself it was silly to be disappointed that his features remained slack. She cupped his face with her hand, smoothed her thumb over his cheekbone, and kissed him again, this time a quick peck to the corner of his mouth. ‘Goodbye, Steve. I’ll be back in a few days.’

She turned on her heel swiftly, blinking furiously against the burn in her eyes, and walked smartly back into the hallway.

She didn’t look back, she never did, but if she had she might have noticed a flicker behind Steve’s eyelids, and a finger twitch on top of the blanket that covered him.

**Author's Note:**

> Peggy is reading from 'The Hobbit', Chapter X - 'A Warm Welcome'. I like the idea of Steve having read and enjoyed it and sketching scenes from it


End file.
